Storyline

The twelve episodes follow the Apollo space program from a variety of viewpoints: (1) "Can We Do This?" maps the origins of Apollo and its Mercury and Gemini roots; (2) "Apollo 1" tells of the tragic fire and the subsequent finger-pointing; (3) "We Have Cleared the Tower" portrays the intense preparation for Apollo 7; (4) "1968" puts Apollo 8 into its historical context against events of the era; (5) "Spider" shows the engineering POV through the design, building, and testing of the LEMs with Apollos 9 and 10, (6) "Mare Tranquilitatis" shows the deeper considerations behind the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing; (7) "That's All There Is" portrays the camaraderie of the Apollo 12 crew; (8) "We Interrupt This Program" shows a by-now-indifferent media galvanized by the events of Apollo 13; (9) "For Miles and Miles" tells of Alan Shepherd's return to the manned program with Apollo 14 after being grounded between Mercury and Gemini; (10) "Galileo Was Right" show the non-piloting demands on ... Written by
Kathy Li

Technical Specs

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The lunar module (LM) seen in several episodes up close, is in fact a real lunar module. It was originally scheduled to go to the Moon as part of the Apollo 18 flight; NASA budget cuts forced Apollo 18's cancellation, but the LM was saved and eventually used in filming this miniseries. It is now enshrined in a museum. In some episodes, we can see a bus-like craft which takes the astronauts from NASA down to the pad at Cape Kennedy just prior to launch. This bus is also the real thing, which the real astronauts all used. See more »

Goofs

In Part 9, "For Miles and Miles", at the beginning when Alan Shepard is brought to his wildcat oil rig, and he gets dizzy and sick, they arrive in a 1965 Ford Thunderbird. The next scene shows him being examined because of the dizzy spells he was having and the flight surgeons report starts off by saying the date is June 10, 1963, far too early for even a 1964 T-Bird to have been on the road. See more »

Quotes

Capcom:
and "Pravda" is calling Neil Armstrong the "czar" of the ship.
Michael Collins:
Well, right now the "czar" is brushing his teeth.
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

User Reviews

From the Earth to the Moon is a stunning masterpiece that captures the triumph of a defining moment in the history of the world: Humankind's arrival to, short exploration of, and return from, it's planetary neighbor the Moon.

From the Earth to the Moon is a 12 hour movie spanning the United States involvement in the space race from the first man in space in 1961 to the last lunar landing in 1972. The movie teaches, gives insights, paints portraits of real people, and is simply fascinating.

The stories told in From the Earth to the Moon are inspiring, captivating, funny, thrilling, and heartbreaking. The true stories are absolutely unforgettable, stories of the men, women, and machines of the Apollo era.

All the stories presented in the film are special, and one that touched me was the story of Apollo 7. With the tragedy of Apollo 1, the movie reveals how Apollo 7 and its crew were America's last chance to make it happen. The movie beautifully presents the pressure Wally Shirra, his crew, and NASA were under before the lift-off of Apollo 7. Had Apollo 7 failed, the space program certainly would have stopped and the world would have never experienced Apollo 11's lunar landing.

The live footage shown from the Apollo 7 lift-off is awesome and spectacular. Generations from now will watch Apollo 7's lift-off to be amazed that humans could achieve such an engineering and technical marvel and scholars will debate in awe how the political, social, and economic environments of the time made such an event possible.

After viewing the entire movie, I was struck with sense of sadness. The Apollo program seemed to allow people's ideas to flourish and pull together around one common goal. That goal, of landing a man on the moon, was noble and exciting. It drew on man's positive strengths to explore, learn, move forward, and better the human condition. Someday, mankind must again reach for the stars.

From the Earth to the Moon will stay with you for a long, long time.

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